TV programs such as “Law and Order” show how forensic experts are called upon to give testimony that often determines the outcome of court cases. Engineers are one class of expert who can help display evidence in a new light to solve cases. In this seminar you will be part of the problem-solving process, working through both previously solved and unsolved cases. Each week we will investigate cases, from the facts that make up each side to the potential evidence we can use as engineers to expose culprits. The cases range from disintegrating airplane engines to gas main explosions to Mafia murders. This seminar will be full of discussions about the cases and creative approaches to reaching the solutions. The approach is hands-on so you will have a chance to participate in the process, not simply study it. Some background reading and oral presentation are required.

As students learn more about the manufacturing process, they use the final prototypes created in the previous activity to evaluate, design and manufacture final products. Teams work with more advanced materials and tools, such as plywood, Plexiglas, metals, epoxies, welding materials and machining tools. (Note: Conduct this activity in the context of a design project that students are working on; this activity is Step 6 in a series of six that guide students through the engineering design loop.)

Exhibit poster showing two scenes in which men with partial arm amputations are taught welding. Poster captions: Disabled men are taught oxy-acetylene welding in the Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men, New York City ; His good arm enables him to handle the torch as effectively as two-armed workmen. Exhibit of the Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men and the Red Cross Institute for the Blind.

Students will develop the skill to make a butt joint with proper penetration.

You will develop the skill of creating a convex T weld with a ⅛” leg size in the flat position. 

This lesson is set up as project based learning on how to measure metal.  Students will get first hand experience discovering foundational knowledge about tools that measure metal length width and thickness.  Then they will get to practice measuring objects and metal.  

The purpose of the 1G destructive bend test is to assess the student's ability to create a structurally sound material.

This lesson is the first of four lessons leading toward students gaining basic weld bead and joint proficiency in multiple welding processes. This SMAW lesson can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as Lesson 1 of the integrated project Attaining Weld Joint Proficiency in Four Welding Processes .

This lesson will help students become more proficient at creating a weld bead in the flat position.

This lesson is designed to familiarize new students with a bench grinder.  Students will learn the key PPE, parts, and then demonstrate how to use it. 

This lesson is designed to familiarize new students with an angle grinder.  Students will learn the key PPE, parts, and then demonstrate how to use it. 

This course introduces basic welding and cutting. Emphasis is placed on beads applied with gases, mild steel fillers, and electrodes and the capillary action of solder. Upon completion, students should be able to set up welding and oxy-fuel equipment and perform welding, brazing, and soldering processes.

The materials in this OER are grouped thematically, under four headings: Introduction to Welding, Structural Work, Career Development and Digital Literacy. All topics maintain the welding theme and spiral vocabulary students will hear and use in the welding shop.